Door hinge switch with pin operated,reciprocating switch actuator rod

ABSTRACT

A hinge pin is rigidly connected to a knuckle of the door leaf of a hinge, the jamb leaf of which has a passage extending through it from inside a knuckle forming part of the leaf to the outer edge of that leaf. The inner end of a rod slidably mounted in the passage is pressed against the pin by a spring. The jamb side of the jamb leaf has an opening therein exposing one side of the rod, which has a notch in it adjacent that opening. A push button electric switch is mounted in the opening with its button projecting into the rod notch while the door leaf is in one of its open and closed positions. The side of the hinge pin has a depression in it receiving the inner end of the rod while the door leaf is in one of said positions so that rotation of the pin as the door leaf is swung toward its other position will cause the rod to move lengthwise. One end wall of the rod notch is positioned to push the projecting switch button outwardly into the switch when the rod moves the notch away from said leaf opening.

United States Patent [191 Gwozdz I [54] noon HINGE swrTcn WITH PINOPERATED, RECIPROCATING SWITCH ACTUATOR RODY [75] Inventor: Joseph W.Gwozdz, Clark Summit,

v [73] Assignee: McKinney Manufacturing Company,

I Scranton, Pa. [22] Filed: Jan. 14,1974 [21] Appl. No.: 433,304.-

[52] US. Cl ZOO/61.7, ZOO/61.82, 200/331 [51] Int. Cl. H0lh 3/16, HOlh17/00 [58] Field of Search 240/DIG. 4; ZOO/61.58 R,

ZOO/6162,6163, 61.7, 61.71-61.75, 61.81,

I v g 61.82, 331

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,992,209 2/1935 Herbster..'....'.'...240/D1G. 4 2,641,662 6/1953. Liley ZOO/61.7

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 25,772

2/1923 France ZOO/61.81

[ 5] Oct. 8, 1974 Primary Examiner-James R. Scott Attorney, Agent, orFirm--Brown, Murray, Flick & Peckham I [57] p ABSTRACT A hinge pinis-rigidly connected to a knuckle of the door leaf of a hinge, thejambleaf of which has a passage extending through it from inside a knuckleforming part of the leaf to the outer edge of that leaf. The inner endof a rod slidably mounted in the passage is pressed against the pin byaspring. The jamb side of the jamb leaf has an opening therein exposingone side of the rod, which has a notch in it adjacent that opening. Apush button electric switch is mounted in the opening with its buttonprojecting into the rod notch whilethe door leaf is in one of its openand closed positions. The side of the hinge pin has a depression inv itreceiving the inner end of the rod while the door leaf is in one of saidpositions so that rotation of the pin as the door leaf is swung towardits other position will cause the rod to move lengthwise. One end wallof the rod notch is positioned to push the projecting switch buttonoutwardly into the switch when the rod moves thenotch away from saidleaf opening.

10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures DOOR HINGE SWITCH WITH PIN OPERATED,RECIPROCATING SWITCH ACTUATOR ROD Door hinges installed in buildings aresometimes provided with electric switches that control electric circuitsoperating electric lights or audible signals so that an observer at apoint remote from the doors can tell by the lights or other signalswhether or not the doors are closed. One such known hinge has a switchextending through one of its leaves and actuated by an adjustable buttonprojecting from the other leaf when the door is closed. This not onlyrequires both leaves of the hinge to be specially made, but the switchand its actuator are fully visible when the hinge is opened. To adjustthe operation of the switch, the hinge must be removed. In another typeof hinge, the switch and its actuator are concealed by being mounted onthe back sides of the leaves engaging the door and door jamb, but theswitch is magnetically operated when a magnet on the other leaf isbrought into close proximity to the switch. A drawback of such a switchis that it must be isolated from ferrous metal to assure proper switchperformance. A strong magnetic field or a large mass of ferrous metalnearby may make the switch inoperable.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a hinge and switchcombination in which the presence of the switch is not disclosed whenthe hinge is opened, in which the switch is not affected by a magneticfield or by ferrous metal, in which the operation of the switch can beadjusted readily after the hinge has been installed, and which includesa minimum of parts.

vThe preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of theopen hinge;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view ofthe side of the hinge that is exposed whenthe hinge is in use, with the knuckles shown in section; and

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged horizontal section taken on the lineIII-III of FIG. 2, but with the hinge closed and installed.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a pair of hinge leaves I and2 that are disposed side by side are provided with conventional tubularknuckles that-are disposed in axial alignmentwith one another. There maybe an odd or an even number of these knuckles, three being shown in FIG.2. In the drawings the leaf 1 with the single knuckle 3 is the one thatis screwed to the door frame or jamb 4 because for the purpose of thisinvention it is preferred, although not absolutely necessary, that thejamb leaf have a central knuckle. The two leaves are connected togetherin the usual manner by a pivot pin 5 that extends through theirknuckles. The pin has a head that is countersunk in the upper knuckle,and the upper and lower ends of the center knuckle are counterbored toaccommodate bearings 6 through which the pin extends. The lower end ofthe lower knuckle is closed by a plug 7 fitting tightly in it. The hingepin normally cannot turn in the knuckles of leaf 2 because a set screw 8in the side of the upper knuckle presses tightly against the side of thepin. Theouter end of this screw is accessible when the hinge is wideopen.

It is a feature of this invention that the hinge is provided with anelectric switch that is connected in a circuit to indicate at a remotepoint whether the door 10 is open or closed. This indication can beaccomplished by an electrically actuated visible or audible signal con-'with which such a switch is trolled by the switch, which in turn isoperated by the hinge. Accordingly, as best shown in FIG. 3, the jambleaf 1 of the hinge is drilled horizontally to provide it with a passage11 extending through it from inside its knuckle 3 to the opposite orouter edge of the leaf. Slidably mounted in this passage is a rod 12,the inner end of which is pressed against the hinge pin by a coil spring13 compressed between the outer end of the rod and a plug 14 pressedinto the outer end of the passage. The back or jamb side of the leaf hasan opening 16 therein that exposes a short length of the back side ofthe rod. Rigidly mounted in this opening, such as by a press fit, is abushing 17 provided with an internal screwthread. Screwed into thisopening is one end of a push button electric switch 18, the push button19 of which is pressed against the rod bythe usual spring (not shown)provided. The bushing and the switch extend into a hole 20 drilled inthe door jamb and therefore are concealed. As will be seen in FIG. 2,the exposed side of the jamb leaf gives no indication that a switch isconnected to the hinge.

- The side of rod 12 facing the switch is provided with a notch 22, intowhich push button 19 projects while the hinge is in only one of twopositions, either closed or open, depending upon whether a normally openor a normally closed switch is used. The hinge is considered to be openfor the purpose of this description whenever the door is not closedtightly. Preferably, as shown, the push button projects into the notchwhile the hinge is closed. When the hinge is opened by open ing thedoor, the rod is moved lengthwise in hinge passage 11. To permitor causethis movement of the rod, the side of the pivot has a depression 23 init that, in

one position of the rod, receives the inner end of the rod. Althoughthis depression could be so located that the inner end of the rod wouldbe pushed into it by the coil spring when the hinge is opened, it ispreferred that the depression receive the end of the rod while the hingeis closed, whereby the rod will be forced'outwardly against theresistance of the coil spring when the hinge is opened. The depressionin the pin can be a notch in its side having upper and lower end wallsconnected by a substantially flat vertical side wall engaging the rod.

With the parts of the hinge in the position shown in FIG. 30f thedrawings while the hinge is closed, opening of the hinge will cause therotating pivot pin to move rod 12 outwardly in passage 11, during whichthe inner end of the rod notch 22 will press against the switch buttonand push it into the switch to either close or open the electriccircuit, depending upon the construction of the switch. The end of thebutton is rounded or tapered and the inner end of the notch is,

inclined lengthwise of the rod to facilitate the wedging action thatpushes the push button into the switch. The switch is wired into anelectric circuit having a source of electric current and a signallingdevice (not shown), such as an electric lamp. If the switch has only twoterminals and is open while the hinge is closed, the lamp will be litonly when the hinge is opened and the rod pushes the push button intothe switch. If desired, the hinge can be provided with three terminalsand constructed and wired so that a lamp of one color will be lit whilethe hinge is closed and a lamp of another color lit as soon as the hingeis opened.

At the factory where the. hinge is made, the switch is screwed intobushing 17 a distance that is considered that the hinge pin can beturned by means of a suitable.

tool provided with projections inserted in holes in the head of the pin,or by a screw driver if the head has a kerf. This will change theposition of the notch 23 in the side of the pin relative the adjoiningend of rod 12 so that the rod will actuate the switch push button sooneror later than it did before the adjustment was made. The head of the pinis marked with an arrow to show which way it should be turned to avoidpinching the adjoining end of the rod, which would interfere withoperation of the hinge.

By having all of the doors of a building provided ,with hinges like theone disclosed herein, a caretaker at a location remote from the doorscan monitor all of them and always know which ones are open and whichones are closed. The installed hinge gives no indication that itcontrols an electric switch, because there are no openings, except forthe usual screw openings, in the exposed faces of the hinge leaves.Since the switch is operated mechanically by the turning of the hingepin, the metal of the hinge presents no problem to switch operation asit often does with magnetically operated hinge switches. Also, unlikeother hinges of this general type, the operation of the switch can beadjusted after the hinge is installed, without removing the hinge.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes,l.

have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated anddescribed what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However,I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appendedclaims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specificallyillustrated and described.

I claim: I

l. A door hinge comprising a jamb leaf and a door leaf disposed side byside and provided with tubular knuckles in axial alignment with oneanother, a pivot pin in said knuckles holding them in alignment so thatthe door leaf can be swung between open and closed positions, meansrigidly connecting the pin to a knuckle of said door leaf, the jamb leafhaving a passage extending therethrough from inside a knuckle formingpart of that leaf to the outer edge of the leaf, a rod slidably mountedin said passage, a spring in the passage pressing the inner end of therod against the pivot pin, the jamb side of the jamb leaf having anopening therein exposing one side of the rod, said side of the rodhaving a notch therein adjacent said opening, and a push button electricswitch mounted in said opening with its button projecting into saidnotch while the door leaf is in one of said positions, the side of saidpivot pin having a depression therein receiving the inner end of saidrod while the door leaf is in one of said positions, whereby rotation ofthe pin as the door leaf is swung toward its other position will causethe rod to move lengthwise of said passage, and one end wall of saidnotch being positioned to push said projecting switch button outwardlyinto the switch when the rod moves the notch away from said opening.

2. A hinge according to claim 1, including a plug rigidly mounted in theouter end of said passage, and said spring being a coil springcompressed between said plug and the outer end of said rod.

3. A hinge according to claim 1, in which said switch is adjustabletoward and away from said rod.

4. A hinge according to claim 1, in which said pin depression is a notchhaving end walls connected by a substantially flat side wall engagingsaid rod.

5. A hinge according to claim 1, in which said one end wall of the notchis inclined lengthwise of the rod.

6. A hinge according to claim 1, in which said connecting means is a'setscrew mounted in a knuckle and pressing tightly against the side of thepivot pin.

7. A hinge according to claim 6, in which one end of I said pivot pin isformed for turning the pin manually when said set screw is retracted,whereby the position of said pin depression relative to the inner end ofsaid rod can be adjusted.

8. A hinge according to claim 1, in which said rod notch receives theswitch button while the hinge is closed. I

9. A hinge according to claim 1, in which said pin depression receivesthe inner end of the rod while the hinge is closed.

10. A hinge according to claim 1, in which said rod notch receives theswitch button while the hinge is closed, said pin depression receivesthe inner end of the rod while the hinge is closed, and said one endwall of the notch is at the inner end of the notch.

l= l l

1. A door hinge comprising a jamb leaf and a door leaf disposed side byside and provided with tubular knuckles in axial alignment with oneanother, a pivot pin in said knuckles holding them in alignment so thatthe door leaf can be swung between open and closed positions, meansrigidly connecting the pin to a knuckle of said door leaf, the jamb leafhaving a passage extending therethrough from inside a knuckle formingpart of that leaf to the outer edge of the leaf, a rod slidably mountedin said passage, a spring in the passage pressing the inner end of therod against the pivot pin, the jamb side of the jamb leaf having anopening therein exposing one side of the rod, said side of the rodhaving a notch therein adjacent said opening, and a push button electricswitch mounted in said opening with its button projecting into saidnotch while the door leaf is in one of said positions, the side of saidpivot pin having a depression therein receiving the inner end of saidrod while the door leaf is in one of said positions, whereby rotation ofthe pin as the door leaf is swung toward its other position will causethe rod to move lengthwise of said passage, and one end wall of saidnotch being positioned to push said projecting switch button outwardlyinto the switch when the rod moves the notch away from said opening. 2.A hinge according to claim 1, including A plug rigidly mounted in theouter end of said passage, and said spring being a coil springcompressed between said plug and the outer end of said rod.
 3. A hingeaccording to claim 1, in which said switch is adjustable toward and awayfrom said rod.
 4. A hinge according to claim 1, in which said pindepression is a notch having end walls connected by a substantially flatside wall engaging said rod.
 5. A hinge according to claim 1, in whichsaid one end wall of the notch is inclined lengthwise of the rod.
 6. Ahinge according to claim 1, in which said connecting means is a setscrew mounted in a knuckle and pressing tightly against the side of thepivot pin.
 7. A hinge according to claim 6, in which one end of saidpivot pin is formed for turning the pin manually when said set screw isretracted, whereby the position of said pin depression relative to theinner end of said rod can be adjusted.
 8. A hinge according to claim 1,in which said rod notch receives the switch button while the hinge isclosed.
 9. A hinge according to claim 1, in which said pin depressionreceives the inner end of the rod while the hinge is closed.
 10. A hingeaccording to claim 1, in which said rod notch receives the switch buttonwhile the hinge is closed, said pin depression receives the inner end ofthe rod while the hinge is closed, and said one end wall of the notch isat the inner end of the notch.